This article was first published on Warrior Maven, a Military Content Group member website.   

 

 

Should the People’s Republic of China’s DF-17 Hypersonic missile truly operate with the capacity to destroy carriers nearly 1,000 miles offshore with a maneuvering, precision-guided projectile able to travel at speeds up to Mach 10, there is a significant threat equation likely generating attention at the Pentagon.

China is known for its advanced hypersonic weapons and often writes in its government-backed newspapers about its carrier-killer anti-ship missiles, yet Mach 10 hypersonic speed and precision guidance present a different and more significant threat equation. Building an anti-ship missile to travel at sustained hypersonic speeds certainly presents technological challenges, yet adding maneuverability and precision guidance not only requires more advanced engineering but presents a far more serious threat.

The exact specifics of the DF-17 may not be fully clear, and certainly, it may not operate with the performance parameters claimed in the Chinese-government-backed newspapers, yet an interesting CSIS Missile Defense Project essay maintains that, indeed, the DF-17 threats are serious.

“The DF-17 has demonstrated a high degree of accuracy in testing, with one U.S. government official saying a test warhead “within meters” of its intended, stationary target. U.S. defense officials have also said the DF-ZF HGV performed “extreme maneuvers” and “evasive actions” in previous test flights,” the CSIS Missile Threat essay says.